Where To Hide The Negatives? .. A Challenge For All You Gifted Craftsters!!

[__jagger_ish]

"HELP!" 

Yes that's me, crying for help. 

I love to take pictures, therefore I have billions from the days that my mom wouldnt let me use her digital camera  ... Anywhoo, what burden comes with developed photos?  That's right, you guessed it ... NEGATIVES!!  Sure, they're great for if you ever need to get backup prints (but then again, when do we ever do that?!  I mean, thats what double-prints are apparently for!). 

Now my cry for help is "WHERE OH WHERE DO I STORE THEM?!"

Your mission (please choose to accept it!) is to help me figure out how to store my negatives in a crafty way.  Post your ideas here, it would be much appreciated ...

... I thought this would be a great place for a thread of this sort so that the answers may help any other fellow crafty photographers/scrapbookers like moi.

Much thanks in advanced;
Andrea (a.k.a __jagger_ish)

[meanbean]

The first thing that comes to mind for me is to construct a box, perhaps from cereal boxes or the like, with a lift off lid.  Cover the outside however you like, and then hot glue or something the interior with soft, non-fuzzy fabric like muslin.  I wouldn't staple it on, because the staples could catch or scratch the negatives.  You could make a hinged lid with a little strap hanging off the front and a snap on the end.  Is that confusing?  I mean a little snap to close the lid to the box, so that in general movement it wouldn't accidentally come open.

Oh oh!  A shoebox would be much better for such a project!!  Or an old recipe box.  Or a hatbox would be stylin. 

Heh, I like boxes

[redstar13]

get negative sleeves from a photo store (an 8 1/2 x 11 has about 6 or 8 slots) and connect them with o rings and you have either a room divider,  a bit of wall art or a reall cool sunscreen for your windows.

edit: the sleeves are clear plastic that go in a three ring binder. just incase you weren't sure

[meanbean]

oh oh oh !  You could frame them, kind of like a mat on top of a mat around a picture.  I guess it really depends on if you're looking to display them, or to store them in case of future desire to print more pics.

If you're wanting to display them, you could laquer them (or whatever, I don't know how flammable laquer is) to the outside of a lampshade

You could make a collage of individual squares - you could pour resin over them and make negative coasters - you could pour resin over them and make square/strip magnets/pins - you could scan them in and print them onto fabric and make cool purses/clothes out of the images

[redstar13]

i like the resin idea. I really need to get my resin out and start playing with it!

[crazy_bc_jen]

If you're just thinking storage, it's not so crafty, but I usually put them in an envelope, which I glue into the back of the corresponding photo album.  Makes it easy to find the right sleeve of negatives if/when I want reprints.

[ktgotskills]

oh man.. i don't have much experience with negatives, but i had a slide projecter slide on hand once and i thought it would be really cool to plaster them onto this old-ish flourescent-kinda light we have in our kitchen. its got a smooth plastic cover so it woudn't make any weird designs on them.

i think any way to hang them up, probably not all at once cause it sounds like you have a lot, would be really cool. window shades or something.

[Laney]

For negatives, I go out and buy some cheap, but stylish, frames. Then I put several of the strips in each frame, arranging them however I want. Then, I hang the frames, each with about 2-5 negative strips (depending on the frame sizes) in a cluster on the wall. Sometimes, I'll get really small frames and put only one strip in per frame. But, that's me. I personally like the look of negatives, especially as art.

[__jagger_ish]

wow! you guys are awesome, i love craftster ... sure my cry for help wasn't very crafty, i mean, it's just storage we're talking here ... ! ... i think i'll go with a "stylin'" shoebox, lol, hey, i like boxes too (my friends and i used to believe our grade 8 science teacher lived in one! teehee good times) ... well, this thread can end itself if it wants, i came looking and i found, lol, thank you guys!

*andrea*

[Miss Moneypenny]

All I can say is that if you want to take the box approach, you might want to avoid cardboard... unless it's acid and lignin free (the things that turn pictures yellow).  It's an easy way to ruin negatives, especially if their going to be in a box for long time storage.